HOW DO DOLPHINS BREATHE WHEN THEY SLEEP?

As dolphins are mammals and not fish, they possess lungs instead of gills. This means that they are unable to absorb oxygen directly from the water, and - like us - they get their oxygen by breathing air directly from the atmosphere.

However, this can cause problems if your body has evolved to live in the ocean over millions of years. Why? Because, if you live underwater and you are asleep, how do you breathe? Well, dolphins have to be conscious to breath. This means that they cannot go into a full deep sleep, because then they would suffocate. However, dolphins have managed to solve this by letting one half of their brain sleep at a time. This has been determined by doing EEG studies on dolphins. These studies have now shown that dolphins sleep about 8 hours day in this fashion.

How do dolphins breathe when they sleep underwater?


In order to breathe when they are asleep, female dolphins tend to lie on the surface with their blowholes exposed to the air. However, male dolphins sleep just below the surface, rising to the surface to breathe periodically as a reflex action.

If the dolphin is asleep in reasonably shallow waters then it is not uncommon for the dolphin to rest on the bottom before rising to the surface to breathe.

So now you know.

For related articles click onto the following links:
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HOW DO DOLPHINS BREATHE WHEN THEY SLEEP?
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